Gakuen Alice: Hidden Shadows
by Quivyre
Summary: Namiko Ayano and Tsubasa Andou have been best friends since they can remember. What happens when that friendship slowly starts to evolve into something more...? Tsubasa/OC Romance/Humour .... Disclaimer! I do not own any GA characters! Except Namiko-chan!
1. Chapter 1

Gakuen Alice ~Shadows Can Fade Out~

Chapter 1 ~Memories in the Dust~

_"Class, this is Namiko Ayano. Be sure to welcome her kindly." said the elementary division (Class A) teacher, Hiyako, placing his hand gently on the head of a shy-looking girl with shoulder-length, light brown hair and bright sapphire eyes. The girl's eyes swept the classroom, almost every student was staring at her wondrously. "Quickly find a seat, please, Namiko-chan." advised Hiyako, withdrawing his hand from her head and giving her a slight push towards the desks. Hiyako left the classroom with a smile, and the assistant teacher rushed in._

_The classroom instantly become a zoo, students using their Alices and obviously creating chaos for the teacher as he tried to settle them down. Namiko looked around, and decided to take the seat closest to the back of the classroom. She looked around for a vacant desk, finding one next to a boy with messy black hair that hinted a bluish tint, wearing a dark green hat and three black star marks underneath his left eye. She walked over to him, but he didn't notice her, too immersed in a manga book._

_"Excuse me..." she said in her usual quiet voice. He didn't look, so she tried to amplify her voice. "Excuse me." She repeated, tapping his shoulder. He looked up, dazed. He snapped his head towards her, seeming annoyed. "Haruko-kun, if you make another comment about my punishment marks, I'm gonna-" the boy then realized that he was talking to Namiko. His clear, dark blue eyes opened wide as he scanned Namiko, top to bottom. Without realizing his actions, he continued to stare at her. Namiko flushed bright red, her body beginning to become transparent._

_Several students in the class gasped, including the boy who had been gaping at her. "Whoa! Are you seeing this?" some whispered. "She totally invisible!" gasped others. After a few minutes everyone gave up on searching for her. But the boy looked around."W-wait a sec! Where'd you go? I-I'm sorry for staring!" whispered the boy. "All I wanted to do was ask if I could sit next to you..." Namiko whispered from behind him. "Aaaaieeee!!" screamed the boy, jumping out f his seat. A few students glared at him, then returned to wreaking havoc._

_"Let me know where you are before you start talking to me." snapped the boy. Namiko reappeared in the seat next to him with an apologetic smile on her face. "Sorry, I'm really, really shy. So whenever I get embarrassed o-or scared or something, I to lose control of my Alice and I turn invisible." she explained. The boy nodded, understandingly. "So your Alice is 'Invisibility', huh?" he noted. Namiko nodded. 'Well, actually, it's no my only Alice. I don't know why I have two, but I do.' Namiko thought to herself._

_"Anyway, yeah, it's cool with me if you sit next to me." the boy added, remembering her previous question. "I'm Tsubasa Andou. My Alice is 'Shadow Manipulation'." said the boy, grinning. Namiko gave him a shy smile and bowed nervously. "Nice to meet you, Andou-kun. I'm Namiko Ayano. Alices of 'Invisibility' and 'Barrier Ability'." she replied. Tsubasa's eyes grew wide again. Namiko cocked her head to the side. "What?" she said. "You have TWO Alices?!" he asked, pointing at her. Namiko rubbed the back of her neck and smiled embarrassedly. "Um... Yeah, I do." she answered._

_"Wow... You're pretty... Er, cool, I mean." amended Tsubasa, before Namiko noticed what he actually about to say. "Thanks..." uttered Namiko, flushing puce, her body beginning to fade out. Tsubasa gave her an odd look. "Is this gonna be a regular thing with you?" he asked, pointing at her almost invisible body. Namiko nodded. "Until I can learn to control my Alice." she replied, laughing and regaining her colours. Tsubasa laughed with her. "I've never met anyone with your 'Invisibility' Alice before." said Tsubasa, suddenly changing the subject._

_Namiko nodded. "Hiyako-sensei said my Alice was rare. He said my ability class was 'Special'. What about you?" Namiko studied Tsubasa. "Hey! My ability's 'Special', too! So, your in both of my classes, huh? That's cool." said Tsubasa. A girl in front of them suddenly laughed. "Quit flirting with the Ayano-san, Andou." she said, turning around. She gave Namiko a friendly smile, then smirked towards Tsubasa, who was beet red. "What's the deal, Harada?! Can't I have a normal conversation with a girl without you thinking I'm flirting with them?!" yelled Tsubasa._

_The girl to which Tsubasa had addressed as "Harada" grinned. "Of course not. I can obviously tell the difference. And that was flirting." said the girl. "Hi, my name's Misaki Harada, my Alice is 'Doppleganger' my ability type is also 'Special'. Nice to meet you, Ayano-san." she said, smiling. Namiko smiled small and nodded, "Nice to meet you, too, Harada-san. You can call me 'Namiko', I don't mind." said Namiko._

_Misaki laughed. "Okay, but if I call you Namiko, then you call me 'Misaki', deal?" offered Misaki. Namiko nodded and grinned. "Deal." she agreed. "Hey! Don't forget about me! You can call me 'Tsubasa'." said Tsubasa, obviously not wanting to be omitted in this friends' circle. Namiko giggled. "All right... Tsubasa." she said, quietly, while Misaki laughed hard at how red Tsubasa's face was._

_This was going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship..._

5 Years Later... [Namiko Ayano's P.O.V.]

"Morning, Namiko!" called Tsubasa while passing me in the hallway of the "Double Rank" dorms. I smiled at him cheerfully and gave him a small wave. "Good morning, Tsubasa." I greeted. He returned my wave with his usual devilish grin and grabbed me into a hug. "I swear, sometimes you're just too cute, Namiko!" he cried. I turned bright red and began to fade out. Tsubasa grinned wider and let me go. "Am I making you nervous?" he asked. I felt my face going even hotter. "O-of course not!" I corrected him before he could go further with his teasing, a vein popping out of my forehead.

[Insert image of Tsubasa Andou here]

This boy here is Tsubasa Andou, my very best friend. Actually, now that I think about it, we've been best friends since I came to the Academy at age 4. We're always together (inseparable, if you will) and many people tease us about that. I never seem to help those situations, since every time they happen I flush like an idiot and disappear instantly.

Yes, it's true. I have a crush on Tsubasa. Then again, he doesn't make it any easier by treating me like I'm his sister or daughter or something and calling me "cute" and "adorable" all the time. But other than that I don't mind the fact that he most likely won't return my feelings. I'm happy with being his best friend and I don't usually feel longing for him, because it's just an innocent crush.

"Anyway, let's go have breakfast!" Tsubasa changed the subject and grabbed my hand, pulling me down the hall and out the door towards the cafeteria. I smiled and ran with him. I may not have known it at the time, but my crush on him was blooming into something more...

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Not bad? It's my first publishing, so don't sue me! Please let me know what you think! ^^ *waves and disappears in a puff of smoke*


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 ~Genie in a Bottle~

"Where's Shorty!?" yelled Tsubasa angrily, throwing his arms in the air. "Calm down, Tsubasa, she probably has her usual routine when something important is happening: She overslept, was late for school, rushed through the elementary division, ran through the junior division, and now, I'd say she's lost." I said, reciting what happened last time, with her first day for Special Ability Class.

Tsubasa looked at me strangely, and I stared back at him with my eyebrows raised. "Are you sure you don't have a third Alice, Namiko?" he asked, jokingly. I placed my hands on my hips and rolled my eyes. "Oh! There's Mikan-chan!" I said, spotting the brown-haired, pigtailed little girl running through the people, trying to find the Special Class line up. I sighed. "She'll find us eventually." said Misaki. I nodded and smiled. 'This year, we'll get to show plenty of people how special our Alices really are! And it's all thanks to Mikan-chan!' I thought, watching her with Tobita and Hotaru.

The Academy's President, Shuichi Sakurano was cutting the tape just as a was thinking this. "The Alice Festival is open!!" Tsubasa shouted, grabbing my arm and pulling me over to Mikan. "Come on, Shorty, we've got work to do!" he said. I took her hand gently and towed her along with me. We walked all the way over to the Senior Division gym and opened the doors to show Mikan.

* * *

Our Special Class was doing an RPG game of "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp". It was all Mikan's idea, and I could feel that it was going to be an amazing convention. "This is AMAZING!!" exclaimed Mikan when she saw the huge maze we had put together. "I know, right?!" said Tsubasa, enthusiastically. I quickly ran to go put on my genie costume. I took the outfit Misaki had designed for me. It was very... Orange. After I put it on and hung jewelry on my forehead, arms and ankles, I stared at myself in the mirror. I guess I looked okay...

I walked out of the change room, barefoot I may add, and looked around for everyone. I spotted Misaki. "Hey, Misaki!" I called, running over to her. "Namiko! Wow, you look great!" she said, smiling at me. I blushed a little. "Thanks." I said. "Anyway, where are Tsubasa and Mikan-chan? Have you seen them?" I asked. Misaki nodded. "Tsubasa was near the entrance and I'm helping Mikan-chan with her genie costume." she replied, pointing to one of the change room doors. "Oh, okay, thanks!" I said, grinning and then realizing that Misaki also looked really pretty in her genie outfit. "You look really great too, Misaki!" I blurted out. Misaki rubbed the back of her head and laughed. "Gee, thanks, Namiko." she said, flushing a little.

I waved goodbye to Misaki and told her and Mikan to come meet Tsubasa and I at the entrance when Mikan had finished changing. I ran towards the entrance of the gym, where all the other members of the Special Class were waiting for customers to show. "Hey guys!" I called to them, running towards my very bored-looking classmates. The looked up, smiled at me, then returned to looking miserably bored.

I noticed Tsubasa leaning on the entrance of the door. I walked up to him and rested my elbow on his shoulder and smirked at his startled face. "I take it there haven't been any customers yet." I said, jerking a thumb towards the others. Tsubasa didn't answer, he merely stared at me, which brought back the memory of when we first met, he stared at me exactly like that. I could feel my face blush heavily, and my body start to face out. "Um... Tsubasa? Are you okay?" I asked, snapping my fingers in front of his face.

He suddenly recovered from his daze and grinned at me. "Sorry, I don't know what came over me." he said, rubbing the back of his neck. I smiled. "That's okay." I said, even though I was wondering in the back of mind why he had stared at me like that. "So, no one?" I asked, trying to distract myself from any further thoughts. Tsubasa nodded and sighed, a sweat drop forming on his head. I sighed as well, placed my hands on my hips. "Hey! Tsubasa-senpai! Namiko-senpai! Look!" I heard Mikan's voice calling behind us.

I was the first to turn around and see Mikan in her genie costume. "Wow, Mikan-chan!" I cried, clapping. Tsubasa then turned around and laughed. "You look just like Jeannie!" he told her. "I patted her head. "You look so cute!" I complimented. Mikan stepped back and surveyed Tsubasa and I. "Wow! Namiko-senpai! You're beautiful!" cried Mikan, giving me a hug. I giggled and blushed. "Thanks Mikan-chan. Y-" but she cut me off with another compliment. "You and Tsubasa-senpai look like Aladdin and Jasmine!" she squealed, now hugging Tsubasa.

I flushed, but Tsubasa remained neutral. But he quickly sent Mikan back to Misaki, who took her by the hand and gave Tsubasa an "okay" symbol. I arched an eyebrow at him and crossed my arms. "Tsubasa?" I called his name clearly, but he avoided my eyes. "Hmm?" he answered, looking out the door. "Um... W-well," I paused to collect the courage to say what I was about to ask him. "What was that?" I eyed him questioningly. I was hoping for an specific answer that I knew I probably wouldn't receive.

Tsubasa finally met my eyes, but I didn't get the confused and/or "what the hell are you talking about" look I thought I would. Instead, I saw his eyes soften. I think he noticed that he looked that way so he quickly turned back to looking out the door. "What do you mean?" his tone sounded indifferent, something very unusual for him. I furrowed my brow. "I mean, why were y-" I stopped myself. I didn't want to press on. I sighed and walked over to the circle of bored people and sat down next to "Megane" as he was nicknamed.

* * *

After another half an hour, we were desperate to have customers. Mikan was staring out the window glumly while the rest of us were sipping juice and eating snacks, waiting miserably for people to show. "But... But why?!" said Mikan. "It can't be helped." said one of our classmates, Akemi. "No one's around in this area." he explained. "He's right." I said, standing up to join Mikan at the window. "Jeez, I knew a lot of people would hit the Latent and Technical areas, but this is worse than I thought." remarked Tsubasa.

"Our location's pretty lousy, too... Considering the location of the Latent and Technical areas. The Elementary and Junior Divisions are much more popular than the Senior Division." I said, quite straight-foward. The others sighed and slumped and I realized that I had just said a veiled insult towards them. "Whoops... Sorry." I said, a sweat drop forming on my head.

All of a sudden, Mikan started jumping up and down excitedly. "What is it, Mikan-chan?" I asked, turning around. Then I saw what was making her so excited. People! "Look, everyone!! People!!" she cried.

Before I could blink, Mikan and all the students from the Special Class, except for Tsubasa, me and Misaki. "WELCOME TO THE SPECIAL CLASS RPG!!" they all shouted, in synchronization. I struck myself on the forehead with my palm as I heard the three guys who had walked through the door scream with surprise. I heard Misaki sigh and Tsubasa groan. The three of us ran towards the desperate crowd to try and hold them back from tackling the people.

"Hold it!" shouted one of the boys they had frightened. "We're going to Somatic!" he said. Tsubasa was trying to hold Mikan back from the crowd, but she kept ducking under his grasp. "Come on. Our RPG is fun, too!!" said Mikan. "What? Special Class?" said the boy. "You guys are crap. I don't need to see it." said the boy, while his friends laughed at us. And they left.

I looked over at Mikan, who had stopped struggling against Tsubasa's grip and stared after the guys. Tsubasa and I exchanged glances and smiled. Tsubasa picked up Mikan with one arm and unexpectedly put his other arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him. I flushed a little but tried to seem like this wasn't bothering me.

"What are you upset for? That was nothing." said Tsubasa. Mikan stared at Tsubasa with awe, then looked at me, who was smiling encouragingly. Before, Special Class never even bothered to make anything for the vendor's festival until Mikan showed up with this fantastic idea of using each of the Special Class's talents individually.

"I'm not upset." corrected Mikan. "In the long run, our bad rep works in our favor." continued Tsubasa. "We lost this one, but once we get a customer, we'll be fine. Because they're not expecting anything from us... It's be easy to impress them, right? We're off to a good start." I could tell he was doing his best to make everyone see the upside to our loss. "He's right, we have to rise to the challenge." I said quietly, half-smiling at Tsubasa, through my words also letting him know that I was directing that sentence to him as well as everyone else, which I think he understood.

"Yeah, it's more exciting that way." said Misaki. "It's like we're underdogs!" she added, pumping her fist in the air, everyone joining her later in a cheer. "Underdogs!" we all cried. We didn't notice three other customers walking through the gym doors. "Hmm? You guys seem to be having fun even without customers." said a familiar voice.

Our eyes drifted towards the doors to see Narumi-sensei, Luca and Sumire, standing there. Narumi was wearing his usual girl-like clothing and cheerful grin. And Sumire and Luca were dressed as animals (a cat and rabbit, to be exact). "Are we you're first guests?" asked Narumi, looking around. Mikan nodded excitedly and grinned widely and waved at them from Tsubasa's shoulder.

"Narumi-sensei! Luca-pyon! Curly!!" she squealed. "Did you come to see me?!" asked Mikan, I could tell she was ecstatic to see a friendly outside face. "Sure, because I was worried about you, Mikan-chan." replied Narumi. I felt a vein pop out of my forehead. "We'll just ignore that supposedly veiled insult, Narumi-sensei." I muttered under my breath.

Beneath his arm, I felt Tsubasa hold back a laugh, letting me know he had heard my comment. "The main event for the Somatics is the Performance Festival. We're not busy on the Vendor's Festival day, so we're really just killing time." said Sumire, I could tell she didn't really want to come here by choice, but she probably came because Luca agreed to.

Then I heard Mikan squeal again. "You're SO cute, Luca-pyon! Rabbit ears!" cried Mikan, pointing at a confused Luca. "Hey! Curly looks good, too." she added quickly when her eyes landed on Sumire. "Perfect look for a stray." she giggled, eyeing Sumire mischievously. A vein popped out on the side of Sumire's head and she instantly snapped back: "Look at you. Your belly button's showing. What a trashy outfit."

Mikan positioned herself on Tsubasa's shoulder so she could fully show her genie costume. "Check it out! I'm the spirit of the lamp!" she said. "You mean "genie", right?" corrected Tsubasa, smiling at her enthusiasm. Narumi laughed. "You look good, Mikan-chan. Adorable!" he said joyfully.

I felt Tsubasa arm shake, I looked up at him and saw him looking down at me with a soft smile. I looked at him and smile. "Psst. Namiko. Check out Luca-kun." he whispered, jerking his elbow towards Luca, who was watching Mikan with a dazed expression. I let an "Awww!" slip quietly from my lips as I watched him watch her. "That's cute." I murmured. Tsubasa gave me a confused smirk. "I've never seen you so into 'lovey-dovey' stuff before, Namiko." he noted. I rolled my eyes, even though I knew I was probably red in the face. "I just think it's sweet." I answered, shrugging.

Then I heard Mikan, poor, clueless Mikan, ask Luca: "So, what do you think, Luca-pyon?" Oh no... Mikan! "What?" was all that Luca could say as a response. He paused, most likely thinking about what he was going to say. "Uh........." was all he managed to utter. "Mikan..." began Tsubasa. "Leave him be..." I finished. Tsubasa, Narumi, Misaki, some other students of the Special Class, me, and even Luca's rabbit scrutinized him with great pity.

Mikan, who was still confused, looked at us. "Huh? What do you mean?" she kept repeating, since we weren't answering. We snapped out of gaze before we could embarrass Luca any further and quickly asked them if they wanted to try our RPG game (as a distraction).

"Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, eh? How do we play?" asked Narumi, dragging Luca towards the entrance of the maze, and Sumire followed. "It's simple." began Tsubasa. "We're scattered all over the maze, playing various genies. You're Aladdin. You go into the maze, defeat the genies and reach the goal." explained Tsubasa. He was just about to go on when I cut him off with an obvious statement. "There are some rules about defeating the genies though." I reminded him.

"I was just getting to that, Namiko!" he retorted. "Just wanted to make sure you didn't forget anything." I sighed carelessly, crossing my arms. "Anyway, the first: you can't use violence or injure them. If you do, you're immediately disqualified. Second: the weapon. When Aladdin is not an Alice, he can pick three weapons."

"And when Aladdin IS an Alice, which is usually the case, he can only choose one weapon." I recited, grinning at Tsubasa's annoyed face. A vein popped out of his head and I back away, but still grinning. "As I was saying..." he went on. "Third: to defeat the genie, you have to use your wits and weapons to meet the difficult challenge the genie gives you." when Tsubasa finished, he glared at me, but I merely grinned wider. "Not to mention, you have to use your common sense. You left that out." I added.

After Luca, Sumire and Narumi all had a chance to play, we explained the concept of the game. "Unlike the other classes, the Special Classes' Alices are all different. And rare, too. They took advantage of it for the game, eh?" repeated Narumi. Tsubasa, Mikan and I high-fived. "That makes it harder to strategize without playing a few times." I explained. Before I knew it, a whole horde of people showed up and we had to set a waiting hour outside.

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Hope this one was good! Ciao, readers! ^^


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 ~Your Wish, My Command~

I heard Mikan scream from the outside of the maze. I rushed through the maze, hopping over the walls as quickly as I could. "Mikan-chan! Is everything all right?!" I called as a flipped over the last wall. I saw Mikan holding up an octopus-shaped cannon and aiming at Natsume Hyuga, a boy from her class.

"Mikan-chan! What's wrong?" I asked, but she wouldn't answer, she just ran over to me and hugged me tightly. "Namiko-senpai!" she cried. "Heeeey! Shorty! Namiko! You slackin' off?" I heard Tsubasa call. He came through the curtain looking confused. "What's wrong, Shorty?" he asked, coming up beside me and patting Mikan's head. Mikan didn't say anything. "Something must've happened with Natsume-kun... Again." I guessed.

Mikan nodded silently. "Here, Tsubasa, take Mikan. Let's just leave this." I whispered, handing Mikan over to him. "You two look like parents." I heard Narumi comment from the side of the entrance. I flushed furiously and glared at him. Tsubasa didn't seem to be bothered, as usual. "Good to see you all!" I greeted Natsume, Kokoro and Kitsuneme. Natsume merely glared while Kokoro and Kitsuneme ran up to give me a quick hug.

"So, you here to try our game?" asked Tsubasa, who had picked Mikan up like a koala bear. "Nope, we just came looking for Luca-kun." answered Kokoro, his usual smile on his face. Natsume all of a sudden glared at Tsubasa, obviously jealous of him picking up Mikan, and turned to leave. Tsubasa and I both knew that Natsume and Luca had crushes on Mikan, but they were too chicken to admit it, so Tsubasa usually had fun teasing them and I've had to set up a barrier, more than once I might add, before he got shish kebabed and trampled by animals, then drag his sorry-butt out before he could ridicule anyone else.

"What was that all about?" Tsubasa mumbled to me and shrugged. "Heh." Was my answer. Tsubasa hugged Mikan tighter because of her unintelligible moaning. Natsume then instantaneously turned back around and glared at him some more. "Come on." said Tsubasa, clearly enjoying Natsume's silent rage and jealousy. "You came all the way over here! Why not try our RPG game?" he suggested.

"Who would get addicted to such a stupid game?" replied Natsume, bluntly. I decided to take a crack at him, too. "If our game is stupid, you should win easily, right?" I replied, smirking. I usually only act this way when I get really peeved at something or someone.

Before entering the game, Natsume gave Tsubasa the most malevolent scowl I'd ever seen in my life. "Ack! Scary kid. Maybe I went too far there..." he muttered. "That's usually the case." I replied, crossing my arms.

* * *

I laid down on my carpet, bored as ever. People rarely came to me because I was the only genie before Mikan. I heard footsteps coming down the hallway and quickly looked up to see Natsume. I smiled and rested my cheek on my palm.

Natsume merely sighed and looked away. "Just give me the task." he said, seeming rather irritated. He must have just finished with Tsubasa; it was the only explanation. I nodded and stood up. I snapped my fingers, to make my Invisibility seem like a genie disappear in a puff of smoke, only without the smoke. "Try to find me. Your time limit is 30 seconds." I said, walking to the other side of the room and sitting high up on one of the barrels.

The room I was in was darker than the others, so my shadow was undetectable. Natsume started searching around the room for me like a blind man, so I had to keep putting up barriers to keep him from colliding with walls and barrels and such. "Damn..." I heard him mutter. I then decided to let him know how much time he had left. "You have 12 seconds left, Natsume-kun." I said.

Natsume didn't move, he just kept standing there as the seconds went by. "7 seconds." I called. Then I saw his eyes flicker, as if he had figured something out. A large, bright, glowing flame appeared in his hand, he threw it up to the ceiling. It made the room a whole lot brighter. Oh crap! My shadow! He noticed my shadow on the barrel and walked slowly over. I couldn't move, that would make my challenge hopelessly difficult.

Natsume merely taped my shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "You lose." he said, and I swear I saw the tiniest smirk (which just so happens to be the closest thing to a smile any student other than Luca has EVER seen), but I was probably just hallucinating from the lights switching back on.

"You can pass. Good luck, and well done, Natsume-kun." I said, smiling and waving as he left. I sighed contentedly, rocking back and forth on my cross-legged position. "He beat you too?!" I heard Tsubasa's voice cry. I turned my torso to see him leaning against the frame of the opening to my section of the maze. "Yeah..." I said, rubbing the back of my head.

* * *

In the end, Natsume ended up actually winning the game, something we never expected. The thing with winning is: If someone wins, they choose a lamp, and the owner of the lamp will be their servant until they've fulfill three wishes of their "master". Which made me worry about both Mikan and Tsubasa, if Natsume picks either one, their doomed.

Mikan was pressed against against Tsubasa and I, hugging as closely. "I hate him. I hate him." she kept mumbling. "I wonder who's lamp he'll pick." I muttered. "Hope it's not mine..." Tsubasa mumbled back. I glared at him and rolled my eyes. "Hey," I heard Natsume call. I saw him speaking to Kokoro... Who could read minds... Oh boy. "Tell me which one." demanded Natsume, pointing at Tsubasa.

Kokoro stared at us, until he finally turned back to Natsume and pointed out one of the lamps. Tsubasa instantly rested a hand against the wall of maze and sulked, you could practically see the dark energy waves around him. "Such is your karma." I said, patting his shoulder. Natsume opened the lamp and took out the piece of paper. I looked over and noticed that the picture was of... A girl. "Huh?" I heard Kokoro say. "You didn't want Sakura-san's lamp?" he asked a flaring Natsume, who had a bunch of veins popping out of his head.

Sakura-sa-? Oh... Uh-oh... Poor Mikan... "I just saw Sakura-san's face in your mind, so I thought you wanted hers..." explained Kokoro. If I wasn't feeling so sorry for Mikan, I would think that was cute. But right now, this is serious. Mikan's face was absolutely pale, she stared from Natsume to Kokoro, then back again. Natsume merely glared at her.

I exchanged glances with Tsubasa. We both knew that this couldn't turn out especially well.

* * *

"I hope Mikan-chan's okay..." I mumbled, walking through the Technical Area with Tsubasa. He told me he wanted to spend the day with me (O///O), I wonder why...? "Aww... Chin up. I'm sure she's fine." Tsubasa reassured me once again. I hope so... Oh! Crap! Anna! "Oh no!" I said, dropping my bags. "What?!" asked Tsubasa. "I forgot I promised Anna-chan I'd help her with her cafe!" I exclaimed, ignoring his sigh.

"All right, well, let's go there now. I'll help out, too." he suggested. I shook my head. "No way! I'm not letting you waste your time waiting tables when you could be enjoying the festival with the others." I said, picking up my bags and walking off towards the cafe. "Tough beans." he replied, sticking his tongue out. I sighed and we walked together to the cafe, him teasing me about numerous things the entire time.

"Anna-chan!" I called, waving to her. "Oh! Namiko-senpai! And Andou-san!" she waved back, her light pink haired bouncing. "Here! I have your waitress outfit for you!" said Anna sweetly, handing me a package. I glanced up at Tsubasa and smiled. "You sure you want do this?" I asked. He smirked back. "All right. Anna-chan. Tsubasa wants to help out, too. Is that okay?" I sighed. Anna smiled and ran towards the back, then emerged with another package.

"Thanks, Andou-senpai! That would be great!" she said, passing him the package. "My pleasure." replied Tsubasa, smiling and patting her head. I rolled my eyes; he's got to have something up his sleeve, yet again. "You can change in the staff room." advised Anna. There's a staff room? In a cafe? I smiled and nodded.

"So... Where do we change?" asked Tsubasa once we entered the staff room, only to see there were no individual rooms. "Um... Well, uh..." I looked around, but found nothing. I glanced back at Tsubasa, to him already taking off is shirt. Holy God, holy God, holy God! "DON'T START TAKING OFF YOUR CLOTHES WITH A GIRL IN THE ROOM, IDIOT!!" I shouted, throwing a barrier in between us. "Would you calm down? It's just us." he retorted, clearly amused by my rage and trying to hold back his laughter.

I sighed and turned around. "If you try to look at me, I'll kill you." I threatened, blushing brightly. I could hear him smirking on the other side of the barrier. "Ugh..." I sighed. I opened the package with my uniform and took a good look at it. Aww! It was so cute! Except for the fact that it was pink... But whatever! I focused my thoughts on my translucent body. I changed into my uniform, having no intentions to look at Tsubasa. "Are you done, Tsubasa?" I called to the other side of my wall. "Yep." he answered.

I walked over to the barrier and placed my hands on it and it dissolved. Tsubasa didn't look half bad in the uniform. It looked a little large on him, or maybe that was because he was always so sloppy. I was so busy studying him I didn't notice him staring at me. I snapped up and put both hands on my hips. "What is it?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

He apparently came back to reality and grinned. "You look adorable, Namiko!" He said, pulling me into another unsuspecting hug. I gasped for air. "Tsubasa!" I called. When he finally let me go, I smoothed out my skirt and sighed. Then I noticed his tie wasn't even tied this time. "Do you ever dress properly?" I teased him playfully, reaching for his neck.

"W-what are you doing?" he asked, taken aback by my movement, most likely. "Don't bust a lung, I'm just fixing your tie." I replied, yanking on the bow. I've been fixing his clothes for the past 10 years, why would he be so surprised now? God, guys are weird.

So, we spent the most of the day at the cafe, helping out Anna and Miruku (Anna's sister). We even met with Mikan, Natsume and Luca. She seemed to be doing fine... until Natsume threw tea all over Anna's pie and Mikan's head practically exploded. But other than that, my day was fine.

Chapter 3 (Bonus Story) ~ A Candle Loses Nothing By Lighting Another Candle ~

"Hey! Namiko! You wanna go to the haunted house in the Latent Ability Area?" asked Tsubasa while we were having a late lunch at the cafe. "Sure! Sounds fun!" I replied, smiling. "Oh! Isn't that where Tobita-kun's working?" I thought out loud. "Oh, yeah. I guess so." answered Tsubasa. "Do you know where the Latent Ability area is?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. I'm sure he knew I could never take us there due to my horrible sense of direction.

He nodded. "It's in the Elementary Division." he answered. Right... And we're in the Junior Division. "All right, well, let's go." he said, standing up. We both threw 900 yen on the table to pay for our meals and left. Half way to the Elementary Division, we ran into Megane and Misaki, who decided joined us.

"For four?" asked the boy at the entrance. We all hopped on a long broomstick and were instantly lifted into the air. "Now, where'd you say you wanted to go?" asked the driver. "To the haunted house, please." said Misaki. The driver nodded and we swooped down amongst the crowd. And I found myself laughing at the excitement.

When we landed, we waved goodbye to the boy. My eyes then drifted to the large, malicious-looking mansion in front of us. "Wow..." said Megane. "They did a good job on this place." remarked Misaki. Then I heard a "Hey!" from somewhere, but ignored it. "Namiko-senpai! Andou-senpai! Harada-san!" someone called. I twisted by torso round and saw Tobita running towards us, waving. "Hey! Tobita-kun!" I called back, smiling.

"Wow! So you came after all!" he said. I nodded. "Have Mikan-chan and the others come by yet?" I asked. Tobita nodded and gave a weary grin. "Yep! Their in there now." he replied. I patted his head and he ran off again, yelling "Have fun!".

We walked through and looked around. Everything was pitch black. "This is interesting." said Misaki. I agreed, it was. We walked around for a while, monsters and ghosts and other illusions popping up every now and then. "This is impressive." I noted, observing the illusion of a Yuki Onna.

I knew we were near the end by the way the ghost kept popping up more frequently. Suddenly, I heard a click and a wall fell between two of us. "Hey! Can you guys hear me? Are you okay?" I called to the other side. "Yeah, we're fine." responded Misaki's voice. I sighed in relief. "Search for the exit and leave! We'll meet with you." I shouted. "'Kay!" she agreed. I looked over at the person beside me. Was it Megane? Or... "Hey, Namiko? You okay?" Yeah, I should have known I would get stuck with him!

It's not like I didn't like spending time with my best friend, but this is really getting weird. Why do I always end up getting stuck someplace alone with Tsubasa? "Namiko?" he called my name again. "Yes, I'm fine." I answered before he got too frantic. "Let's go find the exit." he said. I nodded and we walked through the hallways, searching for a door.

For some reason, this felt really awkward. Not watching where I was going , as usual, I tripped over something and fell. "Namiko! You okay?" asked Tsubasa, helping me up. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just klutzy me." I replied, laughing. He laughed a little with me. I got up and stepped back, and I heard another click. "What was that click?" I asked. "Dunno. Maybe you triggered the door or something." he suggested, shrugging.

Before I could answer, a net came from underneath us and caught us like... Fish. "Gyaa! What the...?" said Tsubasa. "Uh-huh. Some exit." I muttered. Then I realized there was a weak spot in the net right behind Tsubasa. "Hold on." I said, taking out a pair of scissors. "Where'd you get those?" he asked. "Sewing kit." I replied shortly.

"Why do you have a sewing kit with you?" he questioned. "It's from the Technical Area." I explained. Then I stared at our positioning in the net. There was no way to move Tsubasa without me losing sight of the weak point I was supposed to cut. "All right. Hold still." I said, I could feel my face burning as I leaned in towards him to wrap my arms around his neck and rest my head on his shoulder. Maybe if I'm lucky he won't be bothered.

"What're you doing?!" exclaimed Tsubasa, clearly not bothered by the position (that was sarcasm). "I-it's the only way I can clearly cut the right place." I clarified. "O-oh. O-okay." he answered, was he stuttering? I have to say: that position wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be, I sat there cutting, but it looked more like I was hugging Tsubasa (tightly). Actually, now that I think about it, it's VERY awkward.

When I finally snipped the rest of the rope, I started to pull away, only to see that Tsubasa had a firm grip on my waist. "Ts-Tsubasa?" I uttered, trying to see his face. Was he sleeping or something? I carefully reached behind me and withdrew his hands from around my waist. Then I looked at him and saw that he was: #1. Awake. #2. Smiling as though nothing had happened. And #3. Not seeming to make any intentions on moving anytime soon!

"Um... Tsubasa? I cut the rest of the rope. We can GO now." I informed him. His grinned that devilish grin of his and leapt up and through the hole. Then stood outside with his hand out, apparently waiting for me. I sighed. Ugh, Tsubasa was really something else. But, maybe that's why I have a crush on him. I stepped through the hole, taking his hand just to give him satisfaction.

-----

Good? No, yes? Tell me, please!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 ~I Can Wait Forever~

Tonight was the last night of the Alice Festival. It was the Big "After Party" Dance today. All the students would get together and dance and have fun for the rest of the night. It was fun. But, for some reason, the legends about the Last Dance were getting more popular this year, I wonder why?

I rushed through the front yard towards the Party. Rrrgh! I'm late! Again! It's weird, I've been late to this party every year now! God! But these shoes I'm wearing aren't helping the fact that I'm the clumsiest person alive and that I was running. I see the lights of the party and do my best to sprint towards the center of the yard without letting my shoes interrupt.

As I neared the circle of dancers and friends (ha ha). I tried to straighten my kimono and quickly scanned the area for Tsubasa, Misaki, Megane and the others. I noted Mikan, Hotaru and the others. My eyes drift up towards to none other than... Tsubasa, looking pretty handsome- Wait! What am I saying?!

As I approached them and heard Misaki ask: "Where's Namiko, anyway?" I ran faster through the crowd. "Right here!!" I shouted, weaving through the crowd and waving. Everyone turned to me, smiling and waving back.

Then I felt myself trip... Yet again. "Waah!" I cried, falling front wards, yet again. I hear a "Namiko!" from, you guessed it, Tsubasa, and felt arms wrap around my waist and pull me up. "Jeez, be careful, idiot." he said, and I looked up and saw that his face was flushed. Then I noticed for once my face wasn't.

I stared at his face, in awe that he could possibly feel embarrassed about what just happened. "I'm sorry." I replied, bowing, I didn't want him to be mad at me. His face immediately panicked and and he waved his arms around. "N-no! Don't worry, I'm not mad, you should just be more careful, that's all." he amended and I laughed at his flustered gestures. When he realized how strange he must have looked, he joined me in laughter.

Misaki and the others ran over to us. "You okay, Namiko?" asked Misaki, putting a hand on my shoulder. I nodded and giggled a bit. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks, Tsubasa." I added, smiling. Tsubasa smiled back. "Kyaa! You look SO cute, Namiko-senpai!" squealed Mikan, hugging me around the stomach. "Doesn't she?" agreed Tsubasa, winking at my glare.

I smiled and hugged her back, before I knew it, Nonoko, Anna, Kokoro and Kitsuneme all trampled me as well. "Thank you! You all look great, too." I commented with a laugh. Then I noticed Tsubasa's tie was untied, yet again.

"Ugh, will you EVER learn how to dress yourself properly?" I asked, stepping in front of him and reaching for his tie. He grinned sheepishly, and stuck out his neck a little more to help. "I never bother, 'cause I know Namiko's just gonna fix it anyway." he replied. I glared at him, tying his tie a little tighter than usual, making him remove my hands from his neck and loosening it. I rolled my eyes and dragged him back to everyone else by the collar.

Then, Mikan tugged on my kimono and asked me about the last dance. "The last dance?" I repeated. "Yeah, what about that legend?" she asked innocently. I put a hand on my hip and shifted my weight. "That legend? It's not real, it's really just a coincidence." I explained. But Mikan didn't look ready to give up.

"How can you be sure, Namiko-senpai?" she asked. I exchanged glances with Tsubasa. He smirked and slung his arm around my shoulder. "Tsubasa and I have been dancing the last dance for 5 years, and we're not going out or anything." I said, not actually bothered by the truth.

"But... You guys act like a couple." noted Mikan. Okay, THAT I was bothered by. I flushed puce, looking down at my feet, which, sure enough, were already transparent. At least no one could see my chagrin "Do we?" mused Tsubasa, unchanged, untouched. It took a large amount of effort to make my body reappear. I breathed in and smiled.

"Hello!" called a voice. We all turned to see Nodacchi walking over to us in a suit that contradicted him completely. Tsubasa burst out laughing and held himself by supporting his hands on his knees. "That suit does NOT look good on you, Nodacchi." he managed to say between snickers.

Nodacchi looked down at his suit uncomfortably and tried to fix his tie. I scowled at Tsubasa, then skipped over to Nodacchi and poked his shoulder to get his attention. "Would you like to dance, Nodacchi-sensei?" I asked, looking up at him with a smile. Nodacchi stopped fussing with his tie and gave me a grateful smile, offering me his arm.

I took it and waved everyone good bye. "Thank you, Namiko-chan." he said once everyone was out of earshot. I smiled and we started to waltz. "No problem, I give Tsubasa a beating later." I joked. Nodacchi laughed. I turned back to look at everyone, then noticed that Tsubasa's expression has changed. He looked irritated, almost... Angry. I wonder why?

[Tsubasa's P.O.V.]

I watched Nodacchi lead Namiko to the group of dancers. Damn it! Stupid Nodacchi! Wait, what am I saying?! Stupid me, actually. I should know better than to insult people by now. Namiko always gets peeved at me and tries to make amends with the person I ridicule. She was always cleaning up after messes. And I never show any appreciation for everything she does for me.

When the song ended and Nodacchi and Namiko stepped apart, bowed to each other, then parted ways. I sighed in relief and walked over to Namiko, grinning. To my surprise, she didn't strike me on the head or scream at me as usual, she merely petted on the top of head and laughed. "No need to worry, I'm not mad. And neither is Nodacchi-sensei." she informed.

"Sorry 'bout that." I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "And thanks for all those times you got me out of trouble." I added, pulling her into a hug. She stood shocked for a moment, then hugged me back lightly. When we pulled away I could see her face was a bit red. "So, where's that come from?" she asked, giggling a little.

I shrugged. Might as well tell her the truth. "You do a bunch of stuff for me, and I never thank you, so I'm doing it now." I explained. She thought about it for a minute, then smiled. "No need to thank me, stupid, that's what friends are for!" she replied, lightly smacking me on the arm.

We talked and laughed for a little while, then I held out my hand to her and bowed formally. "May I have this dance, Ayano-san?" I asked grinning. Namiko laughed and took my hand. I led her to he dance floor and we began to dance, and she took her position as the leader, as usual (I can't dance, at all).

But this time, I stopped her. "I'm leading this time." I said, as we started up again. She laughed again and nodded. "All right." she agreed. I tried to lead, but it's harder than I thought, whatever you do, your partner copies (the point of being the leader). We stumbled and tripped a few times but I eventually got the hang of it. And we were enjoying ourselves as we usually did.

But then I noticed something was different about Namiko, not physically, but, like, in her aura or something. She was almost... Glowing. It captivated me. She seemed so happy, so light. She was laughing and enjoying herself to the fullest. It made me feel... Warm, peaceful.

She snapped out of one of her giggle fits and stared at me contentedly, then noticed that I was watching her and flushed pink. I laughed a little. I'd always found it so cute when she blushed. "What is it?" she asked. I shrugged and grinned. "It's been a while since I've seen you smile and laugh like that." I answered. She flushed brighter and smiled. "You too." she answered.

Namiko was right about one thing: I haven't been this happy in a while. "I think it's partially because of Mikan-chan." she answered. I nodded. "But then again, maybe it's because..." Namiko began to think out loud and spaced out again, something else I found admirably adorable about her. "What is it?" I asked, now curious about what else could make her happy. She looked up, surprised and shook her head frantically. "Nothing, nothing at all!" she said quickly. I smiled and shrugged, I'll let it go... This time.

The song ended and we bowed to each other, much more deeply than we usually did, might I add. "It was a pleasure, Andou-kun." she laughed, giving me a glimmering smile. Wow, she really looked amazing tonight. "You too, Ayano-san." I replied, pulling her into a friendly hug. I lifted her up, she's surprisingly light, I should watch to make she eats right, and twirled her around. She laughed openly.

Once I set her down, I took the time while she tried to calm her giggles to really take her in. Her hair was long, loose and a dark, almost metallic brown colour; her cerulean eyes were as unbelievably charming as ever, they had always been what attracted guys to her, and her face, her personality, definitely more open and comfortable around others. She definitely looked different to me than she did 5 years ago.

But... How come I'm only seeing this now? I mean, I've always had a crush on Namiko, ever since we became friends. She was a captivating person, and the best part was: she never actually tries. She doesn't "lure" guys in with her pretty face or intelligence. I don't even think she's ever really flirted with someone before.

That's one of the things that I like the most about her, she's her own person, she doesn't act differently around others, she states her mind, even if her opinions aren't always what people want to hear. Jeez, who knew I could be so profound and sensitive? ME of all people? Weird. Guess she's helped me... I don't know, was "see the light" the expression? "Opened a new world for me?" Well, whatever, that's what she's done.

I think she noticed I was staring and smiled a little. "What're you staring at now?" she asked, resting her hands on her hips. I snapped up and and grinned. "Oh, nothing, nothing." I assured her, patting her head. "You're so cute, Namiko." I added. She flushed, and turned away towards the food. "What're you mumbling all of a sudden?!" she replied.

I laughed. "You know you love me." I said, putting an arm around her shoulder as she took a few desserts from the cart. I looked at the table. "Hey, can you get one of those sponge cakes for me?" I asked, pointing. She smiled, and took one.

Her plate was piled when she left, mostly with stuff for me. She shoved the plate in my hands and took out a small dish of pudding. I scoffed. "What am I now? You're servant?" I asked, glaring at her. She smiled. "Nope, but since most of the food on that plate is yours, I figured you should do the honor." she replied.

Then, Tono stepped towards us. "Namiko-chan, chisaii! You look beautfil!" he said, spreading his arms out wide and grinning heartily. Namiko narrowed her eyes. "I thought I told you to stop calling me 'chisaii'!" She fumed. She hated that nickname because it meant "adorably short". "I'm not short! You're just a giant 'cause you're 18!" she snapped, shoveling a small amount of pudding into her mouth.

Tono raised his arms in defense. "Hey, I just came over to ask you to dance, but-" He WHAT?! Namiko's expression changed, she laugehd a little. "Oh really?" She asked skeptically. "So, you didn't come to hit on me or to ask where Misaki-chan was so you could hit on her?" She suggested, smirking.

Tono rubbed the back of his head. "Okay, that might have come across my mind. But, that doesn't mean I don't want to dance with you." He said, holding out his hand to her. Namiko smiled. She was such a softy, but then again, I was too.

"Okay, fine. As long as you know where to keep your hands." she agreed. Tono grinned and took her hand. He looked back just in time to catch my "if you do anything to her I will severely hurt you" glare. He smirked as if to reply "no promises", and I had a tough time resisting the urge to chuck my entire plate of food at him.

After the song ended, FINALLY, Namiko got asked by not only Kaname (which I was fine with), Megane and Akemi to dance, but also Luca (I was fine with), Tobita (again, it was fine), Narumi AND Misaki-sensei (I was fine, he's her uncle).

I danced with a bunch of girls, too. Misaki, Anna, Nonoko, Yuna, Yuri (she looked pretty relieved to be dancing with a guy instead of a girl this time), even Shizune (the representative for Technical class) and Curly (even though she scares me, a lot). There were more girls, but I didn't know them that well. The entire time, I thought of Namiko dancing with all those other guys.

I know I shouldn't be so possessive, but I can't help it. She's my best friend... But I often find myself questioning our relationship... I mean, yeah, I have a crush on her, and yeah, it's a pretty deep one. But, maybe she likes me too, right? Maybe? Ugh, I'm getting depressed, I'd better stop thinking about this.

"Tsubasa-senpai!" called a voice. Mikan, Imai, and Tobita came running over. "Hey!" I called, good, something to distract me. I waved them over, that's I noticed I was still holding that humongous plate of food. I offered them some to help me kill off all the food. Imai gladly took a very large portion of the food. She and I sat down and munched down on desserts.

"Tsubasa-senpai, would you dance with me?" asked Mikan, giggling gleefully. I smiled and picked her up. "All right, shorty, let's go!" I trudged dramatically around the dancers and set her down right in the middle of the dance floor. But only because Natsume and Luca were there, it's going to be fun to see their reactions.

Luca was the first to notice. His cheeks puffed up and he knitted his eyebrows together, and turned around. Perfect. God, I can be so mean. Then... Natsume turned around. Hoo, boy. If looks could kill, I would be brutally stabbed and burned to a crisp. He glared at me maliciously, I smirked and twirled Mikan around, then picked her up and swung her. She giggled uncontrolablly; and Natsume's glare grew angrier.

He then hurled some harmless fireballs at me. A barrier appeared and blocked them. Namiko walked over, and crossed her arms, giving me an annoyed eyebrow raise. "Tsubasa..." she warned in a dangerous tone. A sweatdrop formed around my head. "Sorry, Namiko." I replied sweetly. Meanwhile, Mikan was over screaming at Natsume for throwing fire at us; Natsume, of course, ignoring her.

"But, you have to admit, they are cute." I added, nodding towards Mikan and Natsume. Namiko giggled. "Wow, that may be the first time you've actually referred to something as 'cute'." she remarked. I raised my eyebrows in surprise and grinned, taking her hand and taking her back to the food table. "That's not true." I disagreed. She tilted her head to the side, confused. "I call you 'cute' all the time, Namiko!" I said, and she blushed again. Yes, just the reaction I was going for!

I pulled her into a one-arm hug. "Aww, again you're so cute, Namiko!" I exclaimed. She blushed brighter. "Wh-what are you talking about? I'm not THAT cute, God!" she said, trying not to look me in the eye. "Anyway, it's almost the end of the dance." she said, changing the subject.

Then, Narumi walked up the stage and announced "The last dance! Ladies, come on up!" A horde of girls bounded up the steps and clammered for the microphone. Namiko winked at me and went invisible. Ah, I see, she was gonna pull the whole "steal away the mic when no one's looking" trick.

Hotaru got the microphone first, and announced that she wanted Mikan to be her last dance partner. Heh, clever, and cute. Then, a couple of other girls went and then Namiko appeared, grabbed the mic, and smiled at the audience. "Hmm... Well, no point in pretending to build suspense, right?" she said, laughing. Everyone in the crowd laughed with her, but I also heard a few boys groan. "Tsubasa Andou, may I have the last dance?" she called, looking directly at me.

I grinned and stepped up to the stage. "Of course." I answered, holding out my arm. She smiled and took it, leaving the mic on its stand. We took out positions, and waited for the music.

Once the music began, she began to lead, her natural instinct. Since I'm the worse dancer out of the two of us, we decided that she would lead. But, not this time. I stopped her and flicked her nose lightly. "Ah, ah, ah. The gentleman leads." I reminded. She pretended to look around. "What gentleman?" she teased, and laughed. I glared. Ouch, that one actually hurt a bit. "Just kidding. All right, you lead." she agreed.

I can say I tried, 'cause I really did. But a few moments after I started to lead, we ended up falling over. I had placed my foot on the wrong spot, causing her to trip over it, which resulted in the both of us on the ground, her on top of me. Some people stopped for a minute or two to see what had happened, but then went back to dancing.

I rubbed my head. Ouch, that was going to swell. I felt Namiko's weight still slightly on me, but when I looked over at her, she was completely invisible. "Namiko." I said, my tone in mock disbelief. She slightly reappeared, jsut so I could only see her outline, a little. She was clinging on to my jacket, and even though she was barely visible, I could perfectly see the abnormally bright flush on her face.

I helped her up. She was slightly shakey, and still clinging on to my jacket, spaced out. "Namiko? You okay?" I asked, shaking her shoulder lightly. She blinked, as if to return to normal, and she looked at me. "What...?" she answered. "Are you all right?" I repeated. She nodded, still blushing as much as she was before.

Mikan and Imai all of a sudden ran over to us. "Tsubasa-senpai! Namiko-senpai!" Mikan called. We turned our heads in sychronicity. "Is everything okay?" she asked. Namiko's eyes snapped open. "Y-yeah! Of course! Why not?" she assured. "Well, you're both bright red." noted Imai, raising an eyebrow at the two of us.

That's when I actually noticed how hot my face was. Damn! I didn't know I was blushing too! Imai gave me her "I know you're hiding something that might make me rich" look and took Mikan's hand, driving her away.

Namiko turned towards me and smiled. "Welll... We sure look silly, don't we?" she laughed. I thought about it for a moment, then laughed with her. "Yeah, I guess." I agreed. She listened to the music. "There's still a little bit of the song left; I'll lead this time." she offered me her hand.

After the dance was over, we bowed to each other and made our way back to the "Double Rank" dorms together. "That was fun." sighed Namiko. I nodded in agreement. "But... There was something different about that party..." she added, perplexed. "Something... Felt different, y'know?" she said, puckering her eyebrows together like she always did when she was puzzled.

"Yeah, I do." I concured. Her dorm was further down the hall, so we stopped at mine first. "Maybe it was nothing." she decided. Ah, she was going for the simple-minded way out. "Maybe." I nodded. I stopped at my door and grinned sheepishly. "Good night, Tsubasa." she said, waving and turning to go.

Now, I don't know what came over me, but I took her hand and KISSED her on the CHEEK!! "Night, Namiko." I said. She froze, I froze, and we both said nothing. Suddenly her face exploded in colour and she faded out almost instantly. "... Right. Later..." I couldn't see her, but my guess was that she was probably staggering away. "Man, I'm so messed..." I muttered to myself and opened the door to my dorm.

Am I going crazy? What the hell is wrong with me? I can't be... Falling for Namiko... Can I? No, that's impossible. It's just a crush. Maybe I'm going through some kind of puberty crisis? Ugh, I'm so weird. How can other people put up with me?

I changed into my pajamas and layed on my bed. Here's to a night with no sleep...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 ~ Seeing is Believing ~

[Namiko's P.O.V.]

Holy God! Holy God! I can't believe that just happened! What WAS that? Maybe Tsubasa was being delusional from all the party-ness. Or maybe it was just a "best friend" goodnight kiss... IF THERE EVEN IS SUCH A THING! What am I gonna do tomorrow? How in the world am I going to face him?

Ugh... I'm am SO not gonna sleep AT ALL tonight! Thanks a lot, Tsubasa!

The sun spilled through my window. "... Sunday..." I grumbled, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. "How in the world am I gonna deal with him...?" I thought out loud. My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on my door. I froze. Was it... Him? Really? Of all the times to come bother me, he chooses right after he kisses me on the cheek?

I cautiously slip out of my bed and walk to the door. "Who is it?" I called to the other side, making sure that my voice sounded sleepy and cranky. "Misaki." said the voice on the other side. My eyes instantly flew open. Thank God!

I unlocked the door and let her in. She sat on my bed and studied me. "You're a wreck." she laughed. I rolled my eyes. "As are all of us at 7 in the morning." I shot back. She smiled apologetically. "So, what's up?" I asked.

"Noda-sensei called us down to clean the yard." she replied. My face fell. "Nodacchi-sensei?" I asked. She nodded. "Called us out to clean?" She nodded again. "At 7 in the morning?" She kept nodding. "On a SUNDAY?" I was astonished. I would have understood if it was, maybe, Jinno-sensei or something, but Nodacchi-sensei?

I sighed. "Okay, I'll be down in a minute." I said. Misaki nodded and smiled. "I'll be waiting." she replied. She walked out and I shut the door. Ugh... I can't believe I'm gonna go clean outside at 7 in morning! Wasn't it the Senior Division's year to clean? Junior Division cleaned last year too!

I pull on my uniform and walk out the door to the girl's bathroom. I looked around every corner before I walked. Wow... I'm so paranoid...

I made it brushing my teeth and going down the stairs without bumping into "him". Misaki was waiting for me outside the Double Rank dorms. I smiled meekly at her and croaked "good morning" before we made our way towards the disaster scene.

Yikes... I was wrong. Disaster scene was putting it lightly. The place was a total dump. Dammit, what did these crazy kids DO to the front yard? The Seniors should be the ones cleaning this up, they're Alices are more advanced! Jeez...

I looked at Misaki and saw that she too was surprised by this disgusting site. Every inch of the place was covered in trash and God knows what else. I picked a paper bag that had brushed my leg and looked inside- I wanted to crawl into a corner and hurl after seeing the contents. I can't believe we have to clean this pig sty! It was the Senior Division's year to clean, they had alices that could actually clean FASTER. The Junior Division had more Special and Somatic alices than anything else. What good would that do?

The Senior Division had a bunch of Latent and Technical alices. Also, I can't believe Nodacchi-sensei was the one who called us down. "I think I'm going to hurl." Misaki muttered. I nodded in agreement. Definitely. A happy voice called out to us. "Yo!" We jumped in synch, startled. I was the first to turn around and see Megane, Akemi and... HIM. Oh, dear God, help me! Tsubasa was lagging behind, his hair a mess and his clothes to match. But as much as that bothered me, I was too scared to see his expression to say anything.

Megane and Akemi ran to catch up with us, but Tsubasa continued at the same pace. It was strange, but nothing I hadn't seen before. Akemi smiled at me. "Good morning." He said. I smiled back and replied "Good morning."

Akemi Haganachi was a student of the Special Ability Class. He had the alice of Voice Imitation, meaning he could memorize the sound of someone's voice, then make himself sound exactly like that person. He had impersonated a conversation between Tsubasa and I before, it was priceless. He was 14, like Tsubasa, Misaki, Megane and I, he sat behind me in class, beside Tsubasa; I sat next to Megane. Misaki sat in front of us, beside a girl named Kohaku Tsukiwara, she was a Somatic Ability type who possessed the Super Strength alice.

Anyway, Nodacchi-sensei was waiting for us in front of the pavilion where the after party was held. He smiled apologetically when he saw all of us coming. "Yo, Noda! It's the Senior Division's year to clean! What's the deal?" Called one of the other guys. I sighed. At least someone had had the courage to ask. I'd feel too guilty to object.

Nodacchi-sensei rubbed the back of his neck. "Well... for reasons I'm not allowed to say, the Senior Division has been assigned another section of the academy to clean." He said, looking somewhat uneasy. Ugh, don't tell me the Senior Division had a riot party or something. What were they, 10? No offense to Mikan, Natsume and the others, but really. The Senior Division students had always seemed so calm and mature. They wouldn't throw a riot... would they?

"All right, I'm going to put each of you into pairs and assign you a spot of the pavilion to clean. After the pavilion is clean, then we'll move on to the outside. We'll have this done in no time!" Nodacchi-sensei smiled. I couldn't help but smile back. Nodacchi-sensei was so timid, yet so kind, he was like a father to the Junior Division. I knew I wasn't the only one who felt that way.

Nodacchi-sensei started pairing people up. If he was going by his judgment of friendship, Tsubasa and I would end as partners for sure. I didn't really want to deal with him at the moment. Misaki was teamed with Megane, leaving Tsubasa, Akemi, Kohaku, three or four other students and I. "Namiko, would you go with..." Nodacchi scanned over us. I squeezed my eyes shut and mentally crossed my fingers. Please, oh, please, not Tsubasa, for once! "... Akemi." I opened my eyes. Seriously?

Thank you, sweet, sweet Lord! I tried not to look too joyful to be free from Tsubasa for the morning, I didn't want to seem rude. Akemi flashed me a warm smile and followed me to the center of the pavilion, the fountain, our assigned cleaning site. "So, where to start?" Akemi asked, looking about.

I studied the structure and stature of the foutain's statues, deciding it was safe to climb. "Give me a boost." I said. "Huh?" Akemi didn't seem to understand what I was getting at. "I'm going to climb up the statue and polish them. I also see some garbage up there. You start down here, and once I'm done up there, I'll join you, okay?" I explained. He scanned the fountain. "You sure it's safe?" He asked. I nodded. "Definitely. Tsubasa, Misaki and I climbed it all the time up until we were about 12, then Jinno-sensei caught us and we couldn't anymore." I giggled, scratching the back of my head.

He smiled. "Nice." He entwined his fingers to so I could step on his hands. "I'm not too heavy, am I? I could go get Kohaku-san to lift me if you want." Akemi shook his head, smiling as if embarrassed. "I'm fine, don't hurt my 'man-pride', Namiko-san." He laughed. I laughed with him and leaned on his hand. Once I felt he had a firm grip on my foot, I said "Shoot me up." He smiled and flung me into the air. My foot caught a ledge on the statue, and I easily scrambled up to the top. It was like rock climbing, I think. Not that I've ever done rock climbing before.

"You okay up there?" Akemi called. I looked down at him and smiled, giving him a thumbs-up. "Let's go!" He threw me cloth and a sponge, and I put a barrier over top a bucket so water didn't spill out, and had him toss it up.

You wouldn't believe what I found atop the fountain. Not only food and utensils, but also a left shoe, something that could have once been a radish, a plastic glove (I don't want to know), and a jar of something that smelled like it used to be honey. Wow, these students need some serious discipline. Wow, I just realized how much of a grandmother I sounded like just now. There wasn't much else to clean atop the fountain, so I quietly slipped down the side. Akemi and polishing the stone rim of the pool.

I pushed his shoulder and shouted "boo", making him jump. I laughed. "Sorry, Haganachi-kun, I couldn't pass up the oppurtunity." Akemi sighed. "Thanks, Namiko-san." I patted his head. "I said I was sorry." He chuckled. "Yeah, okay." He looked up at the foutain. "All done?" He asked. I nodded. "Well, then. I cleaned the outer rim already. We can work on the base and the inner." I stared at him. "That was fast." He gave a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, well, I'm a fast cleaner, I guess." I smiled and threw a wet cloth at his head. "Then show me your skill."

"Really? So you have two brothers, Haganachi-kun?" I inquired. Akemi nodded solemnly. "It's been 5 years." I pursed my lips, feeling a little sad. I was an only child, but I knew what it was like to miss family. My mother sent me a letter that my grandmother had died, just about two years after I came to Alice Academy. It was crushing, for a six-year-old girl not to be able to say goodbye to her own grandmother.

Akemi and I were walking back to the dorms after about three hours of cleaning. Nodacchi-sensei may have been strangely demanding today, but he was still a softy. He was letting us have the rest of he day off. So Akemi, Misaki and I planned to go to Central Town for a bit. Akemi ran a hand through his dark brown hair. "Can I tell you something?" He asked. I glanced at him and nodded. "Of course." He fiddled with the rag in his hands, then looked off into the forest, which we happened to be passing by.

"Well... I kind of-" "Nami! Akemi!" Misaki's extremely loud voice interrupted Akemi. I silently cursed her as she walked up to us. "Megane and I are going to go get breakfast, wanna come?" She asked. I glanced at Akemi and he flashed me an approving smile. I turned back to Misaki and nodded. "Sure! We're in!" Misaki laughed. "Great! Meet you there in five," she started to walk away, then paused, turned around and said "Oh yeah, it's me, Megane and Tsubasa." And with that she ran away.

I blinked in shock. Misaki! Ugh, she can be such a meanie sometimes! She obviously knows something's going on with me and Tsubasa, and since I didn't tell her she's gonna do THIS.

So much for a relaxing breakfast...

"Namiko-san!" I snapped up and saw Akemi was waiting for me way over at the doors. I smiled and ran to catch up to him. "Wait for me, dummy!" I cried. But while I was acting calm, I was secretly devising a plan to not have to talk to Tsubasa. I know it seems stupid for me to be overreacting after just a kiss on the cheek, but seriously! He's been my best friend for ten years and then suddenly starts showing interest in me? It's not exactly something you can just get over after TEN YEARS of being treated like a sister!

Did I mention that I've known him for TEN YEARS and he's never done anything like that?


End file.
